love

I think everyone should find someone who looks at them like this. 

these are my confessions.

I'm still bitter that my knowledge bowl team lost in the semi-finals Junior year of high school. One time I was dating this guy and I kept being upset about it and he was like "Are you ever going to let this go?" and I was like "Never" and I'd like to formally declare I will still never let it go. It was grossly unfair.

My second grade crush taught Sunday School today and let's just say I had good taste as a second grader.

The amount of times I've tried to become an internet sensation would astound you. So many hidden videos and twitter accounts, guys.

Friday was Harry Potter's birthday and I, self-proclaimed HP Fanatic, didn't even celebrate in any way. There's a lot more complications going into why I didn't, but I'm frankly embarrassed I didn't wear my Chudley Cannons t-shirt. If ever there was a time to wear it, it would have been Friday (don't worry, I will obviously still wear it other days).

I'm going into my Junior year of college and I have yet to figure out what I'm going to major in. Ha.

Every year for Christmas and my birthday between the age of 11 and 16, I asked for an agent for my birthday. Sometimes I still want one.

I listen to Nocturne No. 2 in E Flat Major, Op. 9 on repeat whenever I'm sad, happy, tired, calm, or upset. So really there's no telling what I'm feeling but I've been listening to it a lot lately.

I prayed for dates the other night, guys.

sushi and stuff

You know when you're so frustrated your body kinda starts shaking? Yeah, experiencing that right now.

I mean, it's fine, really it is. This is the moment where I get concerned texts from my sister and/or mother asking me what caused me to write such a passionate post on my blog. Never fear, family members and others, it's all okay. Bit of an overreaction, really.

But seriously?? Seriously.

Not really angry so to speak, but frustrated that things keep adding to my utter confusion.

In other news, going to get sushi tonight with some friends, so that'll be awesome. You best believe it's half off Tuesday and Thursday nights at Demae. And no, this isn't a sponsored post because, hi, 41 followers. But if Demae did want to sponsor me, all I'm saying is I wouldn't object to a year's supply of free sushi.

School is awesome. I really enjoy studying subjects that interest me, and so far this growth mindset is helping my studying a lot. The best part? It's paying off, and I can see the effects of that. What I don't like about school is the deciding a major part. I wish I attended Hogwarts and I could get called into McGonagall's office and she could be all "So you want to work at the Ministry?" to which I'd respond, "Yeah, sure, because what else is there to do in the wizarding world?" and she'd say, "LOL you're right and it's a good thing you're not a muggle because they have an absurd amount of choices."

But alas. I still have to make that weighted decision and seriously WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GREAT THINGS OUT THERE. I mean, grateful for that. But maybe I wish I wasn't interested in so many of them, you know?

Whaterr.

Have a super day, will you?

cake, the HP way

Once upon a time I loved Harry Potter.

I mean, present tense - love. But since we're talking about a time in the past here, we'll stay in the proper tense.

Also, for several years now, I've had a birthday once a year! Crazy, it's like I'm some freak of nature.

Okay okay. So obviously I have the coolest friends, right? Because they put two and two together:

16th Birthday:

17th Birthday:

18th Birthday:

The 16th and 17th birthday treats were made by my friend Kendra, who is exceedingly awesome and does things like this for all their friends on their birthdays (and incidentally, if you meander on over to her blog, you will find a post about some of those cakes. which really isn't very incidental at all if you think about it, because i obviously just read it and was reminded of the fact that i've never shared the beauty of my cakes with my blog stalker friends yet).

The 18th was made by my friend Carlie, and had an entire full-swing surprise party to go along with it (complete with Quidditch, of course).

Now you might begin to glimpse how awesome my friends are. Do I feel some jealous animosity?

Things of late

Here's some things going on in my wonderfully busy life right now that bring a smile to my face, excite me, or entertain me. Or all three.

The prospect of this movie. How it actually looks like they did a good job with it.

Mimi Cafe's French Onion Soup.

The cold weather on campus.

Marcel's new adventures. He's back, guys. If you haven't seen the original, shame on you, watch that first.

Christmas music (I know, I know... Thanksgiving and all that. I used to be a die hard only-post-thanksgiving listener, but did you know Christmas music is addicting?).

Seeing Savion Glover perform. Go look him up, right now. I'm serious.

A drawn out HP marathon with some girls from my hall.

And so much more. Life is good, you know that?

I really needed a pensieve this weekend.

Thursday was stressful preparation.

Friday was my sister's wedding.

Saturday was my birthday.

Oh wait, did I forget something? Yes, Harry Potter was Thursday too.

Want to hear a story? Okay:

[me trying to explain how much i love Harry Potter, yada yada... just know it's immense. can't do it justice.]

Okay so the premiere of the LAST movie is here. THE LAST. And we all realize months ago that the evening of the premiere is the night before my sister's wedding. That's pretty big deal, for those of you who don't understand. Maybe it's just my family (probably not - but i have to say this because i feel like some people will be like, "wow. i've had a family wedding before and i easily could've had made it to the midnight premiere."), but this wedding was really just a HUGE deal. The bride's in my family, which means we get to do the beautiful reception that was a lot of work. Also, The bride and groom returned from Europe 10 days before the fateful day.

We tried to get tickets, but due to the fact that I sort of didn't think about it because I had other things on my mine (work, wedding, etc.), I missed the date they started selling tickets for the epic (as in real epic) event (and yes, i'll admit i did sort of drop the ball on this one, not focusing on getting tickets). I turned down an invite with friends, because we had the family dinner the evening before the wedding, and I knew that I was going to go to the movie with my younger siblings and the siblings of my soon to be (who is now) brother-in-law. Since we had things going on all day Thursday, I knew I had to get tickets at a theater with reserved seating because I didn't have the time to wait in line (which is truly such a tragedy because waiting in line is the best. ever).

So I go to the theater, and the only thing available is 3D tickets. I purchase them reluctantly. Only as we're driving home do I realize I REALLY don't want to go see it in 3D. It wouldn't seem... right (hopefully other true fans can understand this mentality). So I try to find other ways of seeing it. Maybe hoping we can get them at a theater without reserved seating, and have a family in the ward wait in line early then see it with us? Yeah, that doesn't work out. We have so much going on in June with wedding prep.

Enter my angelic late Young Women's president, who texts me one day and says she had tickets to an early showing on the evening of Thursday - 9 o'clock. She knew of my love and invited me as her "particular guest".

I'm gonna skip the part where I think I can go then try to see if we can get tickets for six people because not only are we bridesmaids and groomsmen going but my best friend is in town too then have my mom tell me no if it's far away which it is then have a big long talk with both my parents trying to work out going then shed a few tears then have my mom talk to the husband of the young women's leader because his work is the only reason we have tickets in the first place then finally getting six tickets and being able to leave the dinner a tad bit early to drive 30 minutes and see the movie. The movie of a lifetime.

We literally ran into the theater, and the movie started seconds later. I was still panting for the first 3 minutes.

The movie was.... ah. Hmmm... I just... I can't.... words are inadequate. I cried. I laughed. I cheered with fist pumps when no one else did. I cried some more. I clenched my fists. My jaw dropped. I looked on with awe. And then the movie ended and the screen went black and I cried because it was over.

No, I didn't see this movie how I would have loved to - waiting for 12+ hours in line with other crazy fans, dressed up, playing games, laughing, counting down the minutes to the movie, etc.

But what matters is I saw it, and it was perfection.

I love Harry Potter, okay? That's really all I'm trying to say with this post. And excuse me for not posting it earlier, at least now it's not as swallowed up in other similar posts of the blogging world. I was just a little busy this weekend.

And for those of you who think I'm insensitive for focusing on Harry Potter and not my sister's wedding, that was incredible too. Better than Harry, because it will last forever. I'll post about that soon, I just want some good pictures to go with it.

When did this HAPPEN?!

.....No seriously, it's Neville.

Yeah I Know

It's kinda been a while since I posted. And an even longer time since I posted anything good. Maybe something spectacular is coming in the future - I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

For now, I'm just trying to keep up with all the blogs out there that I read, because I enjoy it. And I sometimes feel guilty for not posting myself, but my life is pretty busy.

As in, my best friend/sister gets married in 5 days. Yeah I know, awesome, right? I'm a bridesmaid (woot!). We also had a very nice bridal shower yesterday. Yeah I know - totally great free food (speaking of the word totally - what is with this new trend to abbreviate it to "totes"? i feel like my iq drops a few points every time i hear someone say "obvi i def totes love you." Yeah well obvi i def totes hate you when you abrev like that).

Oh, also as in I occasionally work. And by occasionally I mean whenever I can and whenever my managers decide to schedule me. Which, unfortunately, can't be way too often as of late due to wedding plans and such.

Another as in is my determination to finish the Potter series again before 7.2 comes out, which I gratefully got early showing tickets to Thursday evening (otherwise, there was a good chance i wouldn't have gone, what with the wedding and such. so don't be jealous). It'll happen, don't worry. Did you know Watergardens theater is showing Deathly Hallows part 1 this week? Yeah I know, def totes cool.

I also will be an official adult a week from today. Well, the day of birth celebration is a week from yesterday, but I wasn't trying to say the day of my birth, rather just stating the fact that next Sunday I'll have already reached the age of 18. Yeah I know - dry ice!

Anyway, hopefully there will be some pretty cool posting in the future. Including my graduation, which, yeah I know, I never posted about. But I promise it happened. I also am thinking I may throw in pictures of Preference (yeah i know that was back in january) and Prom, because I said I'd post that, and I'd hate to be one who doesn't follow through.

Not much more to say, so have a lovely day.

In case you were wondering.

Two incredibly eventful things happen one month from today.

Firstly:

Yeah no really - it all ends. I would attempt to sufficiently convey my excitement/happiness/expectations/sorrow/nostalgia, but it would end up being insufficient, even if I tried.

So I won't.

Secondly:

These two lovebirds get hitched (if you don't know who "these two lovebirds" are, it's my sister and her fiance). This engagement picture is my favorite, because it's totally a candid to describe why I love them.

Oh oh oh. Also, a month from tomorrow, I turn 18. That's pretty groovy too.

So basically a month from this time-ish, I will be all smiles.

Isn't life beautiful?

pictures: via & via

in which i am a pirate

So there I am.

Sitting at the computer, when I get a phone call from my mom (who is elsewhere) asking me to start the mashed potatoes for dinner.

I stand up, turn to Cami, and say, "Alright. Let's go."

"Where?" She asks.

"On a boat." I improvise.

"A boat??"

"A boat." (pause) "Arrrggg!!!! Avast ye... we're going to Potato Island!"

(pause)

Cami: "Potato Island?? No."

"Yes!"

"Noooo....."

"Yes! I'll show ye!"

I run down the hall, grab a quilt, and lay it out on the floor. I then hurry to my room and get the most stick-like object I can find, which is a giant metal sunflower meant to be in a garden.

I hop onto the quilt (our ship) and promptly yell at Cami to get on. At first she is hesitant, and disbelieving, but soon she's helping me get the ship ready for our journey.

Things come out of my mouth that sound sort of like something a pirate or sailor would yell, but mostly I just scream things like "Arg!" and "Matey!" while throwing in words like "Port!" and "Mast!"

We take off.

I use the stick to propel us forward, and we steer into the kitchen after hitting some rough waves (possibly an aftershock from the earthquake/tsunami?). We the proceed to hunt for the illusive red potatoes, which possess super-pirate strength if you eat them mashed. We find two bags in the pantry and - GASP! - we even find one incredibly rare brown potato!

I turn to Cami and say, "Call me Bootstrap Bill."

"Oh" she says, "Uh..."

"Shall I call you Captain Jack??"

"No."

"Captain Barbosa??"

"No! I'm not Barbosa!"

"What then?" I inquire.

"Call me.... Captain Hooky-face!!" she yells.

So I did.

We peeled these potatoes, one by one, thirsty for our pirate strength the entire time. We cut them, we threw them in a pot, and we set them on to boil. Then Cami borrowed my wand and sealed the pot shut, so no other pirates could get to it, with her pirate magic. She said Expecto Patronum, which is definitely the wrong spell, but I forgave her because we had just finished watching Harry Potter 3.

My mom is now making shepherd's pie in the kitchen, and Cami is next to me on the fireplace. She started out as faking dead - I think she wanted me to save her. But she quickly fell asleep.

And I feel content about my day off.

day 1:

{introduce yourself with pictures and words}


well hi.

my name is anna. i'm a senior in high school who really likes being a senior in high school (though this feeling is quickly being replaced by the "looking forward to being a freshman in college" feeling). sandy blonde hair that is quickly growing long ("oh please!" says my hair, "cut me! i wanna be shooooorrrtttt!!" and then my director says "no, hair. stay long. we want you for the show." and my hair cries). eyes that are blue far away and green close up. freckles on my nose. 5"6'1/2. really ugly toes (i know you probably don't care about that. but they really don't look cute. in fact, feet in general are really hideous. but my feet especially. one day my sisters and i had a pretty foot contest. and i lost). 2 scars: one in my knee (stitches), and one under my chin (stitches). my hands are... big. well, i think so. i call them man hands. but they're not super manly. just as big as some guys i know. bigger than some (thank you, scott brimley). i like my appearance, as much as i haven't in the past. i've accepted my physical aspects, however, and feel quite content.

i like to act. and sing. on stage. these two combined make me happy. i also really hate math and science, and love history and english. a lot. perhaps this has something to do with the teachers i've had for each subject. maybe not (yeah, probably not. my biology teacher was great). i play the piano, though not incredibly well. it's a wonderful instrument, however, and i enjoy playing it a lot. it's also a stress reliever- when i'm angry i go play the piano (the other day my dad walked in and said "wow. that sounds like angry piano." yes, dad. it was). i like to write. sometimes i think i write well, and other times i don't really think so. probably because i'm surrounded by people who write extraordinarily well. i like dancing. not professionally, of course, but for fun. dancing rocks. especially at dances. you know what's even better than dancing? awkward dancing. yeah, i just said awkward dancing, i know. oh man it's superb. i can beat anyone. it's a regular occurrence in our home, and only two people besides my family have seen it (my mom's best friend, who definitely counts as family [she thought she could beat me - ha!], and my sister's boyfriend). don't worry, we definitely had an awkward dancing show christmas eve to the nutcracker theme. i really like harry potter. i'm rather obsessed, but not in a way that stops me from living my life like a normal citizen. i can fake a good british accent, and have several members of lehi's student council convinced i'm british (i ran into one the other day at zupas, and it caught me off guard. luckily, i slipped right into the accent). speaking of zupas, i love food. making it and eating it. food rocks. i like classy things and classy people. old things make me happy, make me smile. music makes me happy, but i don't have a ridiculous attachment to it. i do, however, enjoy old artists (frank sinatra, ella fitzgerald, billie holliday, dean martin, louis armstrong, the andrew sisters, bing crosby, etc.) and new artists (ingrid michaelson, she & him, norah jones, regina spektor, etc.). i like art. i draw and paint reasonably well, but nothing too spectacular. i wish i spent more time on this though - because i do think i have potential. i like looking at art and appreciating it. i love reading. reading is my favorite. it's amazing.

i could go on. but that's the basic. and i think that the next thirty days cover "me" pretty well... you'll probably learn a lot about me and my personal fears, aspirations, thoughts, etc.

as a side note, i'm going to vegas tomorrow. so i won't really have access to a computer (i don't think). therefore, this 30 day-ness is postponed until sunday/monday/tuesday... depending on when i get back.


....ah yes. you didn't think i would leave this post without pictures, did you?

galAAA!morous-


not so glamorous (oh, please enjoy this. i don't release this to the public with too much joy)-

...yes. i'm the one in the middle.


this is me, on a typical day. i don't know what i'm doing but i thought i demonstrated my strange faces/habits/traits/actions:


oh, look. i even got you a candid (yeah, i make air quotes when i speak):


...until sunday/monday/tuesday.

ridikulus

...Uh. Ridikulusly PHENOMENAL!

That is my review for Harry Potter. See me for more details. To sum it up, I have never left a Harry movie more satisfied. It was everything I hoped and dreamed of.

But, alas. I am getting carried away. I could go on and on about my feelings for this movie, but I don't have the time. I don't have any time! Heavens, today I was at the school for 10 1/2 hours. *sigh* Can you say tired? I can.

Music Man is going great. It went downhill for a few days, our lowest point being when Winthrop threw up off stage, when Jessica, Melody, Brandon, and Sarah we're all sick, and when Jeffrey missed his Wells Fargo cue and the storyline kinda became confusing because of it. All in one night. BUT, it's been better since then. Nearly everyone is no longer sick, and we're getting more funny.

Tonight my family came. Immediate, friends, cousins, etc. It was lovely. I could hear them laughing the whole time, which just made me perform my best (which, by the way, tonight was)! It's amazing what a good audience does for a cast. My advice is this - if you ever go see a show, LAUGH when it's funny. Because then, I promise you, it'll just be even MORE funny. And eventually you and the actors will get this enjoyable circle of laughing and funny responses going. :) We give back what you give us.

My hair looks like a lion right now, just so you know.

Thank goodness tomorrow (Oh goodness, today! It's past midnight!) is Sunday! This means:

A) No hair ratting! Hooray!!
B) Church!
C.1) No stage make-up!
C.2) No hair ratting!
D.1) No mic tape that can only be removed with Goo-gone
that stings because it's not meant for your skin!
D.2) No hair ratting!
E) No being at the school!
F) No hair ratting!
G) No ugly stubborn Iowan facial expressions (I'm starting
to worry my face will never be the same)
H) No Bananas in the sky!

...If you didn't get H, that's okay. It's kind of an inside joke.

So... I was definitely going to include this awesome news in this post, but I decided it definitely deserves it's OWN post. Therefore, be expecting something EPIC soon. Key word: lovely.

In other news, I'm definitely very behind on homework. Tomorrow I will be writing a Hamlet essay. I'm planning on receiving a 2 for my grade, since I'm sure my exhaustion will translate to incoherence on the paper: "Hamlet is awesome. He is smart. He is not actually crazy. Ophelia is crazy though - for reals. She should be. She has no choice. Lotsa people being mean: e.g. "Get thee to a nunnery!" Polonius is a fool. Fortinbras is foil. Gertrude is complex. Claudius is eeeevil."

I think Mrs. Woolsey will be impressed, don't you?

update?

Yay for my somewhat reflective posts of late!

Maybe you like those more than posts about my actual life (all...*cough* 5 of you), but maybe not. Really, I don't know. But I think it's time I told you about some pretty stellar things currently going on in my life. I like my life. :) Bear with me.

1. Halloween. How awesome was it? I hope you enjoyed yourself. :) I, for one, never get tired of clever costumes. Here's some Halloween cheer to enjoy:


Me, as Professor Trelawney.



Me, and Kelsey. Kels, Jess, and Syd were: Miss. Take, Miss. Fortune, and Miss. Hap. HA.



Matt Hansen - Team JakeWard (No need to choose!). Half his body even glittered.



Sarah, Christian, and Mel. Polgamists.



Caroline as Rosie the Riveter.



Me, later, for the dance - an old woman! Please, appreciate the pouch if you will.


2. Ingrid Michaelson. Possibly you've heard of her? If not, I suggest you find out who she is. I, personally, am quite the fan. I've adored her and her music for years now, and yay! I finally was able to make it to one of her shows. October 26th, 2010. In the Venue (which, in and of itself makes you feel cool to be there). Let it be remembered.

I'll now attempt to post a video of the BEST part of her show. She's using a looping pedal - that's just her voice on repeat again and again in the background. For reasons unknown to me, I didn't record the whole thing. So enjoy this little snippet- though it doesn't do it justice. I can testify that it was truly UNREAL.



3. Music Man! We open in less that a week and a half. Scary? I think so. Especially considering we still have scenes to block.

...We're dreadfully behind. As in, DREADFULLY. But good news. Mr. Smith said we went from being a -3 yesterday (it was a train wreck, to say the least), to a 2 today! I don't really know what scale we're being judged on here, but it makes me feel good to say it was a scale of 1 to 3.

It's exciting! I love being a part of a show. It's why I repeatedly do it, despite the stress and sleep deprivation and drama (ha) and STRESS. It's worth it to me. And we're getting to the part where rehearsals are really fun. Where I constantly have songs running through my head (you should have heard me the other day mixing up every single word of "Trouble"). Where I get to be my silly character and pose like a Grecian Urn. Where I can show my awesome stubborn chip-on-the-shoulder Iowan attitude as Alma Hix.

...Yes. That's the name of my character.

Have a lovely day. Exciting things (hopefully) to come.


Sincerely,
Anna Elizabeth

P.S. 13 days. [insert major freak out here]

smells

Okay.

I really like smells. Good smells, obviously. I'm not too big a fan of that moldy food smell or whatever.

But GOOD smells? Oh, baby.

I got my hair done today. Somehow, the shampoo Polly uses is about SEVEN times as delicious smelling as the kind I use. I try to remind myself to look at what brand she uses, but of course I always forget. That's a really good smell.

I like natural smells. Rain? Every time there's a rainstorm I go sit on my porch. I love watching everything get soaking wet and I love seeing the leaves on the tree right in front of me all do a sort of tap dance when they get too heavy and full of water - they tip over and the tree looks like it moves. But I also sit on the porch so I can smell that delightful scent. It's a clean smell.

And hey. Grass right after it's been mowed? THAT smells like summer. (I also hope you got that Harry Potter reference)

It's crazy the connection smells have to memories. You know when you get a whiff of something, and all the sudden you're back at your best friend's house at the age of seven watching her mom cook dinner? Or wherever it takes you...

I have this perfume and no matter what, I always reminds me of my 9th grade year. Because I think that was the only perfume I really used that year. You'd think "Japanese Cherry Blossom" would remind me of... I don't know... Japan or something. But no. 9th grade. And all my best friends then.

Does anyone know what kind of detergent my cousins use? Because I swear, it's the most comforting detergent I've ever had the privilege of smelling.

New car? That leather smell? Mmmm.

Certain people have smells. Sometimes it's the perfume or cologne they wear, but often times it's not. And you associate those smells with memories too. So sometimes when I'm around certain people I feel super duper happy. And then let's say some stranger walks past with the same cologne/perfume? Funny.

Books. I'll walk into a book store, and the first thing I do is pick one up and sniff it. Sometimes I get strange looks, and usually anyone I'm with tends to walk about 5 feet in front of me after that. But oh well. It's the new book smell. And in case you didn't know, old books smell quite lovely too. It's a different smell, and it's a good different.

Cinnamon, oranges, mini sausages, pine, english muffins, cloves, hot chocolate.

...Christmas.

That's pretty much all I have to say right now. And yes, that post was all about smells. Please excuse my bizarre subjects.

things that make me jump for joy

Ramen
Best friends
Swimming at night
Sunburns
The Bachlorette with certain people
My blanket
Mac & Cheese
Hours and hours of the Gilmores
Colin Firth
Pictures
Ingrid Michaelson
"Ghost Adventures" on the travel channel
Kindred Spirit type people that come into your life unexpectedly
Red hair
Cakes and cupcakes shaped around Harry Potter themes
Good friends on Loritab
Wild sunflowers on the side of the road
CDs made by friends
Frank Sinatra
Long phone calls with people you've missed
My family
My tie-dye shirt made by Cass
Cake balls and cupcakes
The temple
Blog stalking

.... And Happy Birthday, Mr. Potter.